Eleventh Saturday of Ordinary Time

No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

We can't serve God and the world at the same time. One or the other takes priority, which one is up to us. We can choose to know, love, and serve God or we can choose to live worldly lives. We might try to convince ourselves there is a middle ground, but there will always be conflicts of interests between God and the world and we will constantly face a choice of who or what is our true master. Hopefully, we are strong enough in faith, hope, and love to choose God. But if not, then let us pray to be given the strength to break free from the chains of worldly interests and desires so we can live free as the children of our Lord.

Who or what is our current master? What can we do to resist the tempting calls of the world around us? How can we break free of those things that keep us from devoting ourselves to God?

O Lord, we want only to know, love, and serve you, our true master.

Amen.

Fourth Thursday of Easter

“Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.”

Pride is one of the deadliest and subtle of sins because it is so difficult for us to know when we are wrong about something or someone. Once we have an opinion, we often find it difficult to change it even in light of the arguments of others. However, we are not greater than the Son of God and by extension we should not consider ourselves better than our brothers and sisters who bear the image of God within their souls. Jesus came into the world to save souls, not condemn them. It was the sins he condemned, not the sinners. We should remember this model the next time we think we are better than someone else or desire to point out someone else’s failings. Most of the time, Jesus rebuked peoples' sins in a loving and mild way, we need to do the same. And if we have nagged or berated someone we should apologize for it and pray to be better instruments of God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace.

What acts of pride have we committed? Did we attempt to make amends for them? How can we do a better job of being meek and mild like Jesus?

O Lord, we are not greater than you. We are merely children in need of your loving example of forgiveness.

Amen.